Produced by David Edwards, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE ROMANCE OF A GREAT STORE [Illustration: THE NEW YORK TO WHICH MACY CAME--IN 1858 Looking south from 42d Street--The old Reservoir and the Crystal Palace in the foreground] The Romance of a Great Store by Edward Hungerford Author of "The Personality of American Cities," "The Modern Railroad," etc. Illustrated by Vernon Howe Bailey New York Robert M. McBride & Company 1922 COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY ROBERT M. MCBRIDE & CO. _Printed in the United States of America_ Published, 1922 To the Men and Women of The Great Macy Family Whose Fidelity and Interest, Whose Enthusiasm and Ability Have Upbuilded A Lasting Institution of Worth in The Heart of a Vast City This Book is Affectionately Dedicated by its Author. E. H. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION ix _Yesterday_ I. THE ANCESTRAL BEGINNINGS OF MACY'S 3 II. THE NEW YORK THAT MACY FIRST SAW 7 III. FOURTEENTH STREET DAYS 31 IV. THE COMING OF ISIDOR AND NATHAN STRAUS 47 V. THE STORE TREKS UPTOWN 63 _Today_ I. A DAY IN A GREAT STORE 87 II. ORGANIZATION IN A MODERN STORE 109 III. BUYING TO SELL 145 IV. DISPLAYING AND SELLING THE GOODS 163 V. DISTRIBUTING THE GOODS 185 VI. THE MACY FAMILY 201 VII. THE FAMILY AT PLAY 233 _Tomorrow_ I. IN WHICH MACY'S PREPARES TO BUILD ANEW 255 II. L'ENVOI 279 ILLUSTRATIONS The New York to Which Macy Came--in 1858 _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE The Beginnings of Macy's 18 The Fourteenth Street Store of Other Days 34 The Herald Square of Ante-Macy Days 66 The Macy's of Today 82 Where Milady of Manhattan Shops 114 The Science of Modern Salesmanship 210 The Summer Home of the Macy Family 242 Introduction "Caveat emptor," the Romans said, in their day. "Let the Buyer beware," we would read that phrase, today. For nearly four thousand years, perhaps longer, _caveat emptor_ ruled the hard world of barter. Yet for the past sixty years, or thereabouts, a new principle has come into merchandising. You may call it progress, call it idealism, call it ethics, call it what you will. I simply call it good business.